


Graduation

by chasing_heaven



Series: Accomplice End [1]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Accomplice Ending (Persona 4), Angst, Gen, Guilt, So much angst, honestly what did you think was gunna happen, in which yu makes bad decisions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 10:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18892675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasing_heaven/pseuds/chasing_heaven
Summary: Adachi doesn’t call, though. He doesn’t text. Sometimes Yu looks at the number saved in his phone and wonders if he should send a text. Sometimes he considers asking his uncle about the other man during their own phonecalls. Dojima mentions him of course -- off-handed, some comment about something his partner did, but never anything specific. Would if be suspicious if he asked? Would Dojima suspect anything if he did?





	Graduation

**Author's Note:**

> Several months ago I wrote a bunch of Accomplice End drabbles and let them clog up space on my laptop. Eventually I'll edit the rest and post them, but here's where it all starts I guess?

Spring of his third year comes faster than he anticipated.

It had been uneventful, though perhaps anything could seem uneventful after his time spent in Inaba. He still talks to his friends, but he hasn’t returned since -- not during the summer break, not during the holidays. Yosuke texts him frequently about how he should drop by sometime, and Yukiko always promises him a night at the inn if he’s ever inclined. Nanako calls him too, always asking when he’ll come visit them again.

But he doesn’t, and he can’t. There’s always excuses as to why, but he knows the reason why. He knows why he’s afraid to return.

Adachi doesn’t call, though. He doesn’t text. Sometimes Yu looks at the number saved in his phone and wonders if  _ he _ should send a text. Sometimes he considers asking his uncle about the other man during their own phonecalls. Dojima mentions him of course -- off-handed, some comment about something his partner did, but never anything specific. Would if be suspicious if he asked? Would Dojima suspect anything if he did?

Not hearing anything at all is somehow more frightening than the possible day that phonecall comes.

He nearly misses his name being called at the graduation ceremony, spacing out as he collects his certificate and files off with the other students. Tokyo is large, and this school has more students in it than all the schools in Inaba combined. The entire auditorium is full to bursting. He’s got his college picked out, and got his sights set on a future career. Tentatively, he’s allowed himself to hope for a future at all.

Yu finds his parents afterward, their backs to him as they speak with someone. It’s only when they step aside that he sees his uncle has come along, with Nanako standing by his side. A smile splits across his face, until he notices the third figure standing there.

Adachi.

_ Adachi is here _ .

His mind slows to a crawl.

It takes everything in his power to maintain the grin on his face, and he hopes that the other man doesn’t notice the split-second where it flickers to shock. If Dojima notices, he makes no mention of it and simply shakes his hand while Nanako quickly rushes in for a hug.

“When did you guys get here?” He asks, bending down to scoop his cousin into a big hug.

“This morning!” She chirps brightly. “Daddy and Adachi and me took the train so we could see you!”

“You didn’t think I would going to skip your graduation, did you?” Dojima laughs. He’s a little more put together today, wearing a nice suit with the tie done up properly. He nods to Adachi. “Plus we helped this guy move into his new place.”

“New place?” Yu’s gaze shifts to the other man, looking strangely put together as well. Even his usual mussed up hair is combed neatly for a change. If he didn’t know any better, he’d almost think the other man looked professional.

_ He’d almost think he looks sane _ .

“Ah, y-yeah.” Adachi smiles sheepishly, reaching up to rub the back of his head. “They transferred me back here, so Dojima-san was kind enough to help me out…”

Transferred.

Back.

Yu fights the sudden urge to throw up. He knows the smile of his face is strained -- he knows Adachi knows too. The other man seems amiable and sheepish, but there’s a glint in his eyes that Yu recognizes. He did this on purpose -- and he said nothing.

“A-anyway, he invited me along, and well -- thought it’d be nice, y’know? After all you and your friends did to help us out and all.” Adachi lowers his hand and shrugs his shoulders.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner too?” His mother chimes in, and Yu’s gaze turns sharply to her. Because of course that’s what she suggests -- as often as his parents had made themselves scarce throughout his life, they were not unkind people. “Any friend of my idiot brother’s here is a friend of mine.” She grins at Dojima, who wraps an arm around her shoulder with faux annoyance.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude…”

“No, you should join us,” Yu cuts in -- deliberate, eyes focused on the other man. “It’d be nice to catch up.” Adachi glances at him and for a split second that mask fades, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features before the carefree smile returns.

“Well if you say so…”

_ Why now? _ He thinks once they’re in the car. He chews on his thumb while his mother and father converse in the front seat about some new venture of theirs. He’ll be alone again for a while after graduation -- they’ll be around to help him settle into a place before college, at least, but now he’s not so sure he likes the idea much. If they were around, he’d have an excuse, maybe. To try and avoid whatever it is Adachi has planned.

And he  _ has _ plans. Yu isn’t stupid. He’d watched for any news from Inaba after leaving, watching to see if Adachi did anything. Everything was quiet though after the apparent killer was caught. Adachi would have been bored.  _ Very _ bored. Did he plan this? Was he just biding his time until he could leave the sticks and return? Did he deliberately pick a precinct here? It felt like something he would do.

This surprise was intentional, he deduced that much.

“Are you okay?” His mother asks, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Sorry, I’m just a little tired,” Yu responds, and stares out the car window. The funny thing about distant parents is they don’t even bother to pry.

For once, he’s grateful for that tendency.

At the restaurant he sits between Nanako and Adachi, picking at his food more than he actually eats it. His mother is gushing about Yu getting into Tokyo University, about his plans to study law while his father makes approving sounds next to her. Adachi side-eyes him at that with a knowing smirk, and Dojima laughs about how he’d make a great detective if he ever decides to join the police. Yu tries not to say anything -- his stomach is still in knots, and he feels the nausea start to overwhelm him whenever he opens his mouth.

“Dojima-san’s always talking about what a smart kid you are, so I’m not surprised,” Adachi chimes in. “You gunna be a lawyer?”

“Prosecutor,” Yu responds, jaw clenched. Adachi’s grin widens and the nausea is suddenly too much. He feels his hands clench on either side of his plate.

“Big bro, are you okay?” Nanako looks at him, brows creased in worry. She looks a lot better than when he last saw her -- she still hadn’t been released from the hospital back then, but time had improved her condition. She still seems so frail though -- Dojima had noted how she seemed to get tired out far more easily than she used to. Yu tries not to think about it.

“I’m gunna-- ...I’ll be right back.” He excuses himself and rushes away, stumbling out of his chair so fast that he nearly knocks it over. He weaves through the tables in the restaurant until he finds the restroom, bursting in and finding the nearest stall.

He empties what little is in his stomach, and continues heaving well after. His body shakes, he feels bile burning the back of his throat. His eyes water, his face feels damp with sweat.

Why?

_ Why now why did it have to be now why didn’t he say anything godammit goddammit goddammit. _

He sits there in a daze, reaching up with a shaking hand to flush the toilet and then stands back up on wobbly knees. He feels terrible -- his body aches and his eyes burn.

He did this to himself, and he knows it. He burned the letter knowing full well what Adachi had done. He protected a murderer. He allowed him to walk free, and said nothing to his friends.

(What would he have said if he did though? He can already imagine their reactions. Yosuke would yell at him, demand an explanation for the betrayal. Kanji would grab him and shake him, if not outright punch him. There would be Chie’s and Rise’s tears through clenched teeth, too angry and hurt to form a coherent sentence, Naoto’s resentment and suspicion, and Yukiko’s quiet resignation and distance. Teddie… Teddie was gone. No one was ever sure where he went. He dares not think of what the bear’s reaction would be.)

Yu stumbles to the sink and swishes water to get the taste out of his mouth, bending over to splash more onto his face. He’s grateful that he’s alone in the bathroom now, with no one to witness the anxious mess he’d turned into for however long he was there. For a while, he stands there clutching the sink and focuses on breathing.

He’s fine.  _ He’s fine _ . He can make it through the rest of his dinner without incident, then go home and have a full on meltdown, and remember that he did this. He did this to himself, because he refused to face the truth of what the other man was. ( _ It couldn’t be Adachi _ , he told himself.  _ Not that awkward man. Not the guy who did magic tricks for Nanako, not the guy who regularly hung out at Junes instead of doing his job. Not this weird lazy idiot. Adachi couldn’t possibly… _ )

Was that the only reason why though?

The bathroom door opens and Yu’s head jerks up. He immediately regrets staring into the mirror when he sees Adachi standing there, as non-chalant as he’d always been. The difference is, the mask is gone now -- there’s no carefree grin, but a little smirk playing on his face, a dark glint in his eye. He gently closes the door and locks it, leaning back against the wall. “Jeeze kid, you’re getting everyone freaked out running off like that,” he hums. Adachi assesses him for a moment, then cants his head. “You look like shit.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Yu rasps.

A shrug is all he gets. “Where’s the fun in that?”

_ Fun _ , he says. Yu glowers at the reflection of Adachi in the mirror. The other man just smirks back at him.

“I wanted to make it a big surprise, y’know? And I needed to check on a few things before I said anything.” Reaching up, Adachi scratches his chin. “Did you know the Midnight Channel even pops up out here? Not for everyone, I think -- only if you know about it. Funny how that works, right?”

Yu feels his stomach lurch again. His grip on the sink tightens. “What are you planning?”

Adachi laughs -- not that nervous little chuckle, but actually  _ laughs _ . He laughs like he did when Yu burned up that letter right in front of his eyes and shakes his head. “Well I’ve been bored, you know? And I bet you’ve been bored too, playing Mr. Perfect all year. No bad guys to chase, no people to rescue…” The look on his face is nothing short of sadistic glee.

“So I think you and I are going to play a little game.”

“A game,” Yu repeats flatly.

“Well, yeah -- that’s what you want, right?” Adachi pushes himself away from the wall, moving closer. Yu finally whips around to face him just as Adachi crowds into his personal space and plants his hands on either side of the sink. He keeps Yu trapped there, staring him down. “You wanna keep playing hero, right? You want to keep  _ saving _ people, don’t you?”

He’s too close -- Yu fights the urge to shove him back. It feels hard to breathe, his heart feels like its stopped in his chest. Adachi stands close enough to see the flecks of color in his dead, gray eyes and it’s unsettling,  _ unnerving _ that it doesn’t bother him like it should. Yu doesn’t dare dwell on that line of thought -- he just refuses to make any sudden movements.

“That’s why you did it, right?” Adachi asks. “You wanted to keep playing the game.”

Yu says nothing.

Time ticks by, and neither of them move. Adachi’s gaze lingers on him for several seconds before he finally draws back and heads back toward the door. “Come on, kid. They’re gunna send a search and rescue if we don’t head back soon.” He glances over his shoulder, and that fake smile is back on his face. “You remember our deal, right?”

Yu nods.

“Good. Now let’s go.”


End file.
